Loving Santa
by SkyFairies
Summary: Lucy was a normal college student. Busy, hard-working, and never thought about love. Well, that changed after she met a pink haired Santa Claus. NALU AU. DON'T OWN COVER PICTURE.
1. Chapter 1- A weird santa claus

**MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! You guys all better be smiling alright?**

**And if my fanfics also make you smile that's totally fine too :p.**

**But anyways, I hope this will be good enough as a present to all of you. This'll be a multiple chapter fanfic that MIGHT go on after new years too. Is that ok?**

**I hope so.**

**Oh, and I also have a REAL CHRISTMAS ONE SHOT THAT'LL COME OUT ON CHRISTMAS EVE.**

**Ok? Thanks ;).**

**BEST. PEOPLE. EVER. **

**One shout out to Miriam L. for keeping contact with me. **

**BTW You guys can PM me anytime. A good conversation never goes to waste ;).**

**Well, let's go!**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A FANTASTIC AND AWESOME NEW YEARS. Cause you're the guys capable of that.**

* * *

**_CHRISTMAS FANFIC_**

x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x

Lucy was on her last week.

Well, to be more precise, her last week before Christmas break.

The school work was lowering down and her part-time job was going up. Up in what?

Customers.

The blond spent every afternoon at the mall, working at a cafe there called Fairy Tail. It was the most popular one there and the pay was good. Good enough to cover her daily rent too.

And at this time of year, her workload doubled.

_Really, you'd think people would actually GO somewhere during the holidays. _she thought while carrying dirty plates back into the kitchen.

The boss was there too, frantically cooking the food to keep up with the never ending orders.

"Ah, Lucy! How's the crowd?" he called out to her while adding butter to a slice of bread.

"Busy. Do you need any help over there?" she answered, looking worried.

"No, don't worry about me. Here, take these to tables one and five." the old man said while handing her another load of food.

"Alright." she backed away slowly, careful not to drop anything.

Her back was just about to push open the door when a yell came.

"MIRAAAAAAA! I BURNED MY HAND AGAIN! GET THE ICE WATER!"

"Oh, can't you be more careful?" a gentle voice chided while helping the crying man.

"Tch, I don't need to be careful. Besides, this is only the second time." he sighed.

"Actually, it's the 57th."

The two started arguing, but it looked more like Mira taking over and Makarov trying to put up a fight.

_Really, I don't know how this guys runs the place._

The waitress sighed at the scene and went to serve the customers, leaving the poor chef to Mirajane.

"Here's you're order. Sorry for the long wait." She kept up her friendly demeanor and smiled.

Right after she turned back around, a dark look took over.

Christmas break? She needed to get out of this mess first.

* * *

It was eight o'clock and things were finally calming down in the shop. Lucy was clearing up a table and just started wiping it down.

_RING._

The jingle of the door opening was heard and someone stepped in.

"Hello sir, table for one?" Mirajane spoke in her sweet tone.

"Yeah." the person replied and followed the silver-haired woman to an empty table.

They walked past Lucy but she was bending down, picking a spoon up. Her eyes never saw the man, but her nose certainly smelled him.

It smelled like... fire. Something spicy.

She sneezed.

"Bless you." the person said.

"Thanks." the blond stood up and walked back to the kitchen.

The first thing she noticed was the old man drinking beer. On the counter-top.

"You're going at it this early?" the girl sighed while picking up her note pad.

"It's never too early. Gotta loosen up." he grinned while taking another swig. The teen just shook her head.

"Anyways, we have another one out there so sober up." and she left the room.

He sighed and started hiccuping while firing up the stove.

Suddenly, a pang of pain erupted in her head.

"Ow." she left her current route and went to the bathroom instead.

No one was in there.

_Well, no one comes here this late in the night anyways._

Her eyes looked at the reflection in the mirror. The dark bags under her eyes were starting to show. She felt like sleeping on the floor.

Her hands went up to slap her face desperately. No use. Her eyelids still started to droop down.

"Darn it, I can't fall asleep on the job."

Her hands turned on the tap and she gathered up the ice cold water in her hands. It was splashed onto her face.

The cold woke her up and she felt more alert.

_I just have to make it through one more hour. _

She went to the staff room and took out her energy drink.

"Alright." the girl finished applying her concealer.

"Let's go."

Her legs started speed-walking towards the only occupied table and she took a deep breath.

Lucy didn't look at the customer until her pencil was finally in her hands and she was sure that she could put on a realistic smile.

Her face didn't listen to her these days.

"Welcome to the cafe, can I take you orde...r?" her voice went up a bit at the end.

The person sitting in front of her was DEFINITELY not normal. He was decked out in a santa costume, equipped with a red hat, a fat stomach, and the suit. Oh, there was also the beard.

He seemed completely unaware and was just staring at the candle that was on the inner edge of his table. His dark eyes seemed transfixed with the small flame and didn't see her.

Which was definitely a good thing.

The golden-haired girl was staring at him before finally realizing what she was doing.

"Um, are you ready to order?" she said in an attempt to capture his attention.

He looked at her but then swiftly averted her gaze and instead trained his sights on his outfit instead.

He also finally looked at what he was wearing.

"OH. Darn it. I can't believe I still had the suit on." he tried to take off his hat and the fluffy beard.

It didn't work out. He couldn't lift his arms all the way up because of the tight suit.

After one minute of seeing him TRY to lift his arms up, she gave in and started to help him.

Her fingers unwound the string holding the beard on his face.

Once, her hand brushed against his skin and she felt his hot cheeks. They were bright red.

_Is it really that hot? _she thought while pulling the hat off his head.

She stepped back after finishing the small task.

"Man, that feels good." he let out a breath of relief.

"Er, do you want to go and change?" she asked him

"Huh? OH. Yeah, if that's fine with you." he smiled sheepishly.

She sighed a bit.

He was really easygoing. A normal person wouldn't have forgotten that they were wearing something that outrageous.

"The bathrooms are in the back, to your left." she pointed in that direction.

"Thanks. I'll be right back." he tried to walk there as fast as he could.

And knocked down a few chairs along the way.

"Sorry!" he shouted after each one fell.

She face-palmed and just went into the kitchen.

Looked like her shift wasn't over yet.

* * *

"GRAY, HELP ME OUT HERE." Natsu whispered frantically.

"Huh? Why'd you call me flame head?" the person on the other line yawned.

"LUCY WORKS HERE." he nearly screamed.

"Sheesh, you finally entered that cafe right? Took you long enough." Gray answered.

"No, the kids were running after me at that santa job and I had to get away!" the pink haired male ruffled his hair in an exasperated manner.

"Well, either way, good for you. You'll finally be able to make a move." the black haired teen said.

"I DON'T WANT TO EMBARRASS MYSELF. THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS AVOIDED HER!" he slammed against the wall in the bathroom stall.

"That wasn't gonna get you anywhere, you know that right?" the man sighed.

"Well, what do I do? I can't just walk out!" the guy sank to his knees.

"Just be normal. Don't freak out on her and you'll be fine. If you can, make some conversation." Gray spoke.

"Alright. Thanks man. I owe you one." and he hung up.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The cool and calm college student leaned against the railing of his balcony and let out a breath of air.

"That freak's gonna mess up. Definitely."

A white-haired girl just came from his kitchen and called out.

"Gray, that was Natsu right? What did he say?"

The male sighed once more.

"He'll be back late tonight. Don't worry about your little crush." he replied.

Her face lit up in pink.

"H-huh? I never said that stupid! Just get back in here. And put your shirt back on while you're at it!" she turned back around and disappeared from sight.

Gray took his shirt from the floor and looked out at the noisy city behind him.

"Yeah. He's so gonna mess up."

And the glass sliding door clicked shut.

* * *

**Haha, I got so many things planned out. **

**Natsu, you lucky bastard.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed and wait for my upcoming one shot!**

**-SkyFairies**


	2. Chapter 2- Warmth

**Soooooo.**

**New Years is comin up soon huh? 2015 anyone?**

**Well, I'm just gonna be lazy and stay on the bed.**

**Either way- HAPPY NEW YEARS PEOPLE! It's a holiday so might as well celebrate.**

**;)**

* * *

She was surprised.

That a fat and sweaty Santa could change into a stylish and good-looking young man.

But then of course, she still didn't know what to think about his pink hair. Ignore it?

Who even dyed their hair pink these days? Especially a guy?

Lucy straightened up from sorting out the supplies in the lower cabinet.

She stretched a bit, even bending backwards to relieve her back.

Her body tensed for a second. And then slumped forward. She closed her eyes for a few seconds.

It even hurt to relax. Was that supposed to be normal?

"Food's ready." Makarov called.

The blond walked over and took the plates of food.

This person was going to kill her.

_Really, how do you expect me to take all these over there?_

Brown orbs glared at the sight in front of her.

When nothing happened, she gave up and started to carry the orders to one certain table.

He was sitting there, looking at his phone absentmindedly.

The girl glanced over his outfit. The pink haired man was wearing a t-shirt paired with dark jeans. A scaled scarf was wound against his neck loosely.

"Here is your food. Is there anything else you would like?" she asked politely.

He looked up and quickly stuffed the device into his pocket. Then his gaze was directed at the meal before him.

She almost thought that drool was coming out of his mouth.

"No. I'm good." his eyes were only on the food.

"Alright. Call me when you need anything." the required words for serving someone just tumbled out of her mouth without second thought.

The exhausted woman turned around.

Really, this was the first time she had interacted so much with another customer.

_That's also sort of pathetic when you think about it._

A dark look came over her face.

Who cared anyways? This wasn't her problem. All she needed to do was serve him for 30 more minutes and then she would get out of here.

The female strolled towards the cashier.

Her thin body leaned against the structure casually.

Lucy had nothing to do now.

Everything was finished and the person out in the dining area right now was already eating.

She gave a self-satisfied smile.

One arm was brought down onto the table and it bumped into something metal.

It was a fork.

All the forks and spoons were supposed to be put away by now...

Her eyes widened and she rushed back out, gripping onto three utensils wrapped in a tablecloth.

"Sorry sir, I forgot your-" she stopped speaking midway. For the second time.

The plates that were full of food minutes ago now shined.

The onyx eyed boy sighed contentedly. His large hands were messy and covered with sauce from the dishes.

So he ate using his hands huh?

Her eyebrow twitched.

"Here's a napkin." she took one out of her black apron and held it out to him.

"Huh?" he looked up and she saw his mouth and chin covered with random crumbs and food.

But that wasn't the only thing.

He seriously looked like a little kid.

The fork was forgotten. She suddenly had the urge to clean him up right then and there.

Really, this person was going to be the end of her.

And it had only been fifteen minutes.

* * *

"Do you want to pay with cash or credit?"

"Credit." he replied.

The blond took his card and noticed the name scribbled on top of it.

"Natsu Dragneel." she read aloud.

"Yeah?" her head tilted up again.

She saw a man standing in front of her. But suddenly, his face switched to a smaller version. It was a mini pink haired kid.

"Nothing." the girl swiped the card.

Her mind was messed up today.

Brown eyes turned to look at the screen. It was way too bright.

"Ow." she turned away.

"You ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

Right as she answered, another headache came. This one was stronger than the ones from yesterday too.

_Darn, not again._

Lucy stepped backwards and put a hand on her head.

Natsu looked as if he was going to say something but she put a hand up.

"Sorry for the inconvenience. I'll finish this up." the words were forced out.

The female quickly tapped at the screen, ignoring the stabs at her brain.

"Here." she handed the card back.

Now her eye-sight was going fuzzy. She felt as if she was a piece of paper, light enough to fall over at any moment. Everything in her mind were jumbled and unclear.

Were her two feet really on the ground?

Nothing felt right. It was too much to bear.

She tilted over and almost hit the computer.

Two hands grabbed her shoulders quickly and set her on the chair instead.

They were warm.

It felt comforting.

She didn't want it to go.

But for some reason, everything went black the next second.

And the light was gone.

* * *

**Wasn't too sure where I was going with this. But hope you can forgive for the weeks with no updates.**

**All messed up new chapter is being worked on.**

**KEEP BEING AWESOME!**

**-SkyFairies**


	3. Chapter 3- Walking back home

**Sorry for taking a while!**

**Anyways, hope you guys had a nice start to spring! (even though it snowed for me...)**

**...**

**Well, ENJOY!**

* * *

_**CHRISTMAS FANFIC-**_

_**x-x-x-x-x**_

Natsu was holding the girl he had a crush on. An extremely LARGE crush on. Well, at least she had fainted. His cheeks were burning a bright shade of red and...

Wait.

Fainting wasn't _supposed_ to be a good thing was it?...

He tore out of the room and slammed into the kitchen, giving Makarov a frantic look.

"GRAMPS!"

"Eh? Ah! Look, Jannie! It's Nashu!" the old man swayed around while holding a bottle of beer.

After saying this, the silver-haired woman came rushing out of the back room and paused when she saw him.

"Natsu! It's been a while since you came! Why does Lucy look like she's dead? You didn't do anything to her, right?" Mira gave him a slightly demonic look while smiling innocently.

"She just fainted and- wait- NO! I didn't do anything I swear!" he nearly shouted when the knife came soaring through the air.

"Really?" the blade was lodged in the wall behind him.

Natsu nodded slowly.

"Alright!" and she started smiling again.

He sighed in relief. Mira was usually sweet but also had a demon side when you did anything wrong. She was especially over-protective of her co-workers. Which got him in trouble a few times before... but that wasn't the problem now.

"She fainted at the register. I don't know why." the pink haired male spoke.

"Hmmm. Well, could you take her home with you? You both live in the same dorm. I'm pretty sure you two are in the same college classes too right?" she put a hand on Lucy's forehead to check her temperature.

"Yeah, but not all of them." he looked down at the blond only to go red again.

"Do you think you could take her back to her room?" Mira came over with a wet cloth.

"Umm, I don't-" Natsu started to shift from one foot to the other.

"Great! Her stuff is in the back room and I think she should have her keys in her bag." the older woman said while giving him a push out of the kitchen.

"But-"

"See ya! Let me know if anything happens to her!" and the doors flapped together softly.

There was silence for a while. The white-haired girl started washing the dirty dishes.

The old man sitting on the counter-top took another swig from his bottle.

"Ya know Mira, there was another way." he spoke while sipping the water the lady handed to him begrudgingly.

She gave him a wide grin.

"Of course. But this will be more amusing."

The two figures outside started walking across the street.

"I should really check up on Lucy in a week." she murmured with a knowing smile. Mira started to hum.

Makarov gave a tired sigh.

* * *

His head was spinning around in circles.

Why did Mira have to let Lucy go with him of all people! Not to mention that she actually had a CAR to drive in. His legs were getting tired.

Surprisingly, the blond didn't have a lot of stuff. Just a jacket and a bag that seemed weightless.

He looked up at the sky.

White flakes were starting to fall.

Well, it was winter. Christmas was coming up soon too.

The white slush was piling up. His shoes made footsteps in the snow while he walked. Lucy was on his back.

He trudged on while a million thoughts were swirling around in his head.

When he got to the dorm, he stood there for a minute. Just standing.

In a way, this wasn't so bad. He definitely wouldn't have wanted the blond to go back with someone else.

He had known her since childhood after all. Well, not that Lucy would have payed him much attention.

The pink haired boy walked up the stairs of the building. Thank god her key was labeled. He didn't know which room she lived in.

By the time he found the right place, Natsu felt sluggish and sleepy. Gently letting the girl down onto the floor in a sitting position, he unlocked the door and walked into a dark room.

Putting everything down on a nearby table, he picked her up again and put her on the bed. He pulled up the covers and looked at her face with a longing look.

He really wished that he was her boyfriend. Someone who could see her everyday and be able to love her freely.

The boy sighed. His eyes swept across the room. It was really neat and clean. The complete opposite of his.

He sat down on a chair. Just to rest for a second.

He closed his eyes and leaned back. A pang of sadness came up in his chest.

The image of a girl's smiling face sprang up in his mind. When Lucy was little.

He smiled. Maybe after this, something good would happen between them.

But of course, it would definitely take a miracle to get something like that.

* * *

**I kind of don't know what I wrote just then but... at least I have some new ideas!**

**Hope you guys can keep reading even though it's WAY past christmas!**

**Love ya!**

**-SkyFairies**


	4. Chapter 4- Answer

**I'll be updating more often now since it's summer and I'll also work on my other stories which have to be revised a bit. **

**I'll update All Messed Up more and I hope you'll keep reading!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**LOVING SANTA**_

_**x-x-x-x**_

Lucy woke up in her room. Which wasn't too weird since it was HERS... except for the fact that a boy was next to her. She didn't scream but she looked at him, wondering why his pink hair was so familiar to her.

His face was peaceful and very... boyish. His features were like a child's. He also had a wet scarf wrapped around his neck.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings carefully, wondering what else was wrong besides the fact that a stranger was sitting 5 feet away.

Just as she glanced at the clock, the alarm went off.

She jumped back into her pillow before reaching over to turn off the buzzing sound. As she turned around, her mouth took in a silent gasp of air and her body stilled.

The boy was awake and watching her.

They only stared at each other for a few moments before the blond opened her mouth to talk.

_RING RING RING-_

He stood up in a flash and clumsily reached into his pocket.

"What?" he snapped into the phone. The stupid electronic had ruined everything.

"IT'S ALREADY 12 IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" a male yelled from the other end. Natsu's eyes widened as his friend/enemy started talking.

"Don't scream! I have a perfectly good explanation!" he said while fidgeting around.

"Yeah, well I'm sure Erza would love to hear why you were late to her play. Ahem, NOT THERE AT ALL."

Natsu winced and nearly smacked himself for forgetting that the performance was today.

"I had to do a favor for Mira ok? Don't blame-" he was cut off by a girl's voice.

"Natsu? Where are you?" a steely tone came flooding from the speaker. He was incredibly aware of how Lucy's eyes were on him, probably wondering what the situation was and why he seemed like a crazy person.

"I'll explain in 10 minutes just let me do something important. Bye." his finger hit the end button before anyone else could say anything else. He also sent a quick prayer to protect his wallet because he knew that a lot of cakes would be needed in order to calm a certain red head down. Especially after he hung up on her... oops.

The pink-haired make looked towards Lucy and smiled awkwardly. She just stared at him blankly, not giving any clue to what she was thinking.

"Um, did anything happen that I need to know about?" she asked in a quiet voice. She felt shy and not sure what to do in the situation. He hadn't even talked to her yet and honestly, her mind was jumping to all sorts of conclusions. None of which were crazy but still, terrifying.

"Mira told me to take you home since you fainted at the café...and I accidentally fell asleep here." he mumbled the last part, blushing a bit.

Her eyes widened a bit and she almost sighed in relief. At least it was nothing too bad...wait...

"I fainted?" she said.

"Yeah and-"

_RING RING _the phone rang again. His face changed into one of fear and he ran to the door, opening the door only to slam it and come back to her.

"Just ask Mira." those were the words he said before leaving the dumbfounded girl alone.

She slowly got out of bed, looking at where he last stood.

... _So he is crazy._

* * *

Lucy was walking down the street while listening to music on her Ipod. She had gotten over the events from earlier and decided to ask Mira what happened when she went for her evening shift.

There was no need to go there twice in the day just for a single question. Even if it was bugging her to the point where she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

As soon as she stepped into the shop, her body froze up and she stared at the scene before her. She was still taking glances at them when the silver haired woman called her over from behind the counter.

There was a group of people at the biggest booth they had in the cafe. And in that group she saw pink hair followed by a face which she had just seen this morning.

But that wasn't all. There was a scarlet-haired girl who had a plate of strawberry cake in front of her, a silver-haired girl, a blue-haired girl, a guy with black hair with his shirt off and a guy with many piercings. It was a strange group no matter how you looked at it. Also, the pink boy was crying over his now empty wallet.

"Hi Mira." she said towards her co-worker when she had gotten close enough to be audible.

"Hello Lucy. Are you ok? I had Natsu bring you back after you fainted because he was your classmate." she explained in a soft voice.

"Oh, I'm fine now. I think I may have over-worked myself." the blond smiled weakly.

"Well, you won't be doing anything harsh today. Just serve the customers and leave everything else to us." the woman smiled warmly.

"But the baking-" the girl tried to interfere.

"It's fine. I can do that and besides, there aren't a lot of people today." the silver haired lady said while pushing Lucy off to change into her work clothes.

"A-alright." the girl said while stumbling into the back room.

She had gotten her answer even though for some reason, there was a bit of un-satisfaction within her.

But the girl pushed that to the side of her mind and started changing.

x-x-x-x-x-x

As soon as she stepped out and finished tying her ponytail, Mira pushed a tray piled with food into her arms.

"Please take this to table 9. If it gets to be too much then just take it slowly alright?" she said while walking off.

The girl set the tray down and fixed her apron before picking it up again and heading towards the table.

"Here's your order. Enjoy." she plastered on a smile while setting the food down in front of them.

Natsu mumbled a thanks before looking up.

"OH." he said loudly before looking back to the ground. He should've known she would be working tonight.

...It was a bit awkward between them.

"Is there anything else?" the blond said, trying to get rid of the silence and everyone looking at her.

"No, we're fine." the blue haired girl said after seeing her friend panic.

"Alright." and she turned around, grateful that she hadn't caused a scene.

The golden haired girl was unaware of three stares on her back, watching her leave.

One belonged to a blushing boy, another to a confused girl and the last to a guy who just had an idea. One that would involve a lot of trouble. But probably would be worth it in the end... probably.

* * *

**I don't think that was the best but I wanted to update! I hope you guys have a good summer and get a break from school cause it's what we all look forward to;)**

**You are awesome and amazing.**

**-SkyFairies**


	5. Chapter 5- Wishes

**You people are all so wonderful, I sometimes wonder why I'm so lucky to have you with me.**

**It's been a long while since I've updated, but I'm back now! Hope you guys have a great Christmas and enjoy your New Year!**

**Love you.**

* * *

_**LOVING SANTA**_

"I expect you all to be in class tomorrow. No skipping allowed." Ezra looked at her friends pointedly.

The group had finished their (huge) meal and after splitting the (humongous) bill, they decided that it was getting late.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. We only have two more days until break anyways." Gray said while yawning.

"Gray, your pants." Lisanna sighed while picking up the discarded clothing. Ezra glared at the black haired man, and he immediately stiffened after seeing her gaze.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep my clothes on... probably." he stated while whispering the last part under his breath.

"Well, I guess we should be heading back." Lisanna spoke while buttoning up her coat. Natsu glanced back into the cafe and his expression softened when he saw a glimpse of blonde through the window. Gray didn't fail to notice the small action. The icy male quickly looked at his silver haired friend to see if she had seen it too. To his relief, it seemed as though only he had witnessed it.

"Natsu, Gray, are you guys coming?" the blue eyed girl questioned while looking at the two.

"You go ahead, I think flame-brain forgot something inside." Gray said while looking at his fiery companion.

_Natsu, you're gonna owe me for this._

After everyone had left the scene, Gray sighed while turning towards the pink haired male.

"I didn't leave anything inside. What're you talking about?" Natsu asked. Just then, the sound of a door swinging open reached their ears. The noise rung out in the calm and snowy night. Both turned towards the alley beside the restaurant. Gray saw that the cafe had turned off most of its lights.

He just shook his head at the other's question and smirked. Natsu narrowed his eyes.

"Don't mess up." Gray said, while pushing the pink haired male into the alleyway. Natsu widened his eyes and was about to run after his friend before his back hit something.

He spun around quickly, looking to see what he had bumped into. His onyx eyes met a pair of warm brown orbs.

* * *

As soon as she saw the pink hair, she knew something troubling was going to happen soon. Even after she had understood the events from the morning, her mind still was uneasy from the shock. After all, he had been in her BEDROOM. It was easy to misunderstand that.

"Watch out!" he suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" Lucy looked around and noticed that the ground was coming closer to her face with each passing second.

_I'm falling...Wait, how did I not see that coming?_

She shut her eyes tightly and tried to bring a hand out to cushion the impact that was going to occur at any moment.

Suddenly, something firm wrapped around her waist. It pulled her forward and away from the dirty floor. Her nose hit something warm.

"Ow." she winced while bringing a hand up to her face.

"Are you ok?"

She looked up and almost choked from the sight.

The moon was shining brightly, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Lucy could even see the stars shining brightly in the distance. There was a pale glow of light surrounding Natsu's face, and she could see his dark eyes looking into hers. She had never really paid attention to his looks before, but in that moment, the female really thought that he was handsome.

He reminded her brother, who was a huge playboy. The way he caught her so smoothly and held her close to his chest immediately put her guard up.

Lucy had never been one to submit to someone's looks, but this was the first time she had ever become shocked by someone's facial features.

What was wrong with her today? Maybe it was just because he had been in her room, and she was more conscious of him because of that. Was she getting too tired? Or perhaps it was stress.

Lucy kept trying to reassure herself that it was nothing until Natsu spoke up.

"Lucy?"

She snapped back into reality and supported herself up. She picked up her bag, which had dropped when he bumped into her, and avoided looking at his face.

"Thanks." she said in a soft voice. The girl just stood there awkwardly, not sure whether to go, or wait for him to move.

Just as she was going to speak up, Natsu walked out onto the sidewalk. She hesitantly left the alley and was about to just go home before the male's hand shot out to hold her arm.

"Um...can I walk you back?" he asked. Lucy paused and stood still.

Natsu himself was surprised that he had suggested that, and he almost felt like smacking himself in the face for it. Why would she want him to walk her back? His cheeks were burning.

"You know, because it's not safe right now." he quickly elaborated.

"Y-you don't have to. I have to go through the subway and-" she spoke while shaking her head.

"I'm taking the subway too. Besides, it's nothing." he grinned while looking at her for confirmation.

"But-"

Natsu suddenly remembered a conversation he had with Gray one day.

_Look, why're you so nervous around her anyways? Just be the straightforward idiot you always are. If she doesn't like that, then that means she isn't the one._

He put away all of his worries and took a deep breath.

"Let's go!" he said, and the happy male took her hand while walking to the station.

The blonde let out a gasp and started a running a bit to keep up with the male's eager strides. She gave him her silent consent while trying to keep up.

_Besides, it wouldn't be bad to have protector for once._

Lucy looked at him and felt a bit strange. Sure, he was a classmate and they had exchanged one or two greetings at one point,but why was he going out of his way for her?

Her eyes wandered over to their linked hands. She could definitely feel the heat from his fingers, and it seemed to warm her whole body.

Lucy remembered that in class, he always had everyone around him. From what she had seen, he was an outgoing and charismatic person. He was never left alone.

They had never even held a lengthy conversation. It was strange to see him suddenly get involved with her.

Lucy felt something brush against her arm. She looked up from the ground.

Natsu had slowed down to keep up with her. She saw his pink cheeks and noticed that his hand around hers had become comforting. Her legs also stopped jogging, and they settled into a relaxing walk. She almost smiled at his actions. He didn't seem like such a bad person.

Meanwhile, the male was trying to keep himself from grinning like a madman. He had always been too shy to confront her, but in these two days, things that he never thought could happen actually occured. He glanced towards Lucy.

Why was she able to affect him so much? It was really pathetic sometimes, when he would keep thinking about her nonstop for hours on end.

Even now, he could distinctly feel her hand in his. His heartbeat beat loud and clear. Natsu secretly smiled to himself.

He wasn't supposed to go on the subway, but who cared? At least he could spend some more time with her.

And perhaps this year, he wouldn't have to wish (again) for a certain girl to be his girlfriend.

* * *

**Ok, it's been a while, but I wrote this chappie! SO HAPPY (that rhymes!)**

**Anyways, even though it's been a year and even though Christmas ended yesterday, remember that CHRISTMAS IS ALWAYS LESS THAN A YEAR AWAY! **

**Have a happy new year!**

**-SkyFairies**


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